We found out yesterday that my sister and her husband will be welcoming a baby boy in November. I think everyone in the family is pretty excited to meet the first grandson/nephew. And of course, my baby crafting/shopping urges are kicking into high gear. But, what do you make for a boy?
So, my crafty readers, point me in the direction of good baby boy crafts… clothing, toys, etc. I could only think of one crafty blogger (Homemade by Jill) with baby boy items. And did you see the tie and vest onesies from Jessie Rivers featured in one of her posts. Ahhhhh, the cuteness!!:
And since my sister will be registering soon, what are your must-have baby items? Here are some of mine:
– Changing table. I know this is always at the top of everyone’s “Do Not Buy” list, but I love my changing table. We still use it.
– Babywearing stuff. I have two pouch slings, two ring slings, a mei tai and an Ergo. I think if I had to do it over again, I’d have a Moby wrap for when the baby is little, and the Ergo. I LOVED being able to put Daphne in the BabyHawk or Ergo and have my hands free to do other things.
– Miracle Blanket. Daphne was a little baby Houdini and could bust out of just about any swaddle. And she didn’t like her arms tucked in. But, I still preferred the Miracle Blanket over the SwaddleMe or just using a receiving blanket. Here’s Daphers at 3 weeks old in her Miracle Blanket:
– Kirkland wipes (Costco). This isn’t helpful for my sister, since she’s planning on cloth diapering, but Daphne never had a problem with these irritating her skin.
– Pedipeds. Don’t know about the boys shoes, but I loved these on Daphne. I absolutely hated Robeez.
– The Children’s Place stretchies (zip up PJs). Love these. I’ve heard great things about Hanna Andersson pajamas too and might try those for Daphne this year.
– IKEA Antilop high chair and long sleeved bibs. Both awesome and cheap, cheap.
And here are a few things I hated, or Daphne hated:
– Bumbo seat. I’m glad I got this at a garage sale for $5 because Daphne HATED IT!
– Medela Pump in Style. This is another weird one for me to hate, since everyone loves it. I had better luck with the Avent Isis manual pump. Not that Daphne ever took a bottle. I’m sure if I was working full time and needed an electric pump I would have learned to love the Medela.
– Those weird baby gown pajama things. I had a family member get Daphne at least 10. Totally hated those.
Please comment and let us know what worked, or didn’t work, for you.
I’m sure you’ve heard about the latest Motrin ad (well, if you read any mommy blogs) since it’s all over the web. I think I’ve seen it on 8 different sites this evening. It’s a pretty snarky ad about babywearing:
First off, I am by no means an expert when it comes to babywearing. But I’m pretty sure if your carrier is giving you pain, you should find a babywearing group and try to get help. Maybe your fit isn’t good, size wrong, maybe a different carrier would be better for you, etc… Our Ergo carrier distributes all 20 lbs. of Daphne’s weight so well, I can barely tell I’m wearing her. But if I just hold her in my arms, or on my hip, she lasts about 5 minutes before my back starts to hurt. I only need a Motrin when I DON’T babywear. Motrin, don’t piss off the mommy bloggers.
You might not be able to read the caption, but it says “Jenny spent many a pregnant night dreaming of breast-feeding, washing hemp diapers, and handcrafting education toys from pieces of twine. And then she had the baby.”
I was one of those people who said my kid won’t watch TV until she’s much older, and even then in moderation. Then I had the baby. And if 5 minutes of Noggin will snap her out of a fussy time and allow me to regain my sanity, then let’s watch Oswald, baby! I’m still on the fence about cloth diapers. I swear my child poops more than I thought possible. I should have started back when it was all breastmilk poop and not as offensive as real food poop. Yucko. Oh yeah, I also wanted her to play with handmade, organic toys, not loud obnoxious plastic stuff. Unfortunately she only likes loud, plastic stuff that requires batteries. She doesn’t even touch her stuffed animals.
I love Sloane Tanen’s work. She is so funny and I love those little chickens. A few years ago I had one of her calendars in my office, but my boss at the time was a little offended by the lesbian reference in Paige, so I took it down. Recently, I put her Hatched book on my Amazon wishlist without seeing any of the images and now that I’ve looked at a few of the prints I realize I must have this book. In Placenta, the chicken is babywearing!! (There’s a phrase you probably don’t see often, “the chicken is babywearing”) Only my fellow babywearing mamas probably find that as hilarious as I do. And Ned’s bedtime, Goodnight Moon and Polygamist are pretty funny too. I think the book would make a really cute gift for a new mom.
This is just another plug for babywearing. We made the decision not to take our stroller to Chicago last weekend. I wasn’t going to gate check our nice Zooper stroller, and didn’t feel like buying a cheapy umbrella stroller, so we carried Daphne in the Ergo. It was great in the airports (getting on escalators instead of trying to find an elevator, hopping up on the rental car transport van). It was also nice to carry her on the actual plane in the Ergo, that way I had my hands free to stow her diaper bag and my purse before getting her car seat installed in her airplane seat. I can also see how a pouch, ring sling or Moby wrap would be awesome for holding a smaller baby in your lap, if you decided not to buy them a seat. Something to think about for the next baby.
In fact, while riding on the escalator at O’Hare I thought to myself that I’m going to buy an Ergo for a shower gift for every family member and close friend who has a baby. Then I found out that Ergo was raising their prices this week and won’t allow discounts anymore. I suppose that’s still ok. They are worth it.
There was a babywearing conference at DePaul last week, which is so funny to me. Because for YEARS while we were visiting downtown Chicago my dad would drag us to DePaul and buy a hat or shirt or something (He did most of his bachelor’s at OU, but finished up a few years later at DePaul). This time I might have actually wanted to go to DePaul. Oh well. I was hoping to see a few babywearers at O’Hare. No such luck. Saw a few people with Bjorns, but nothing else. I did talk to a woman with a baby just 6 days older than Daphne. She had an Ergo too (but not with her). We bonded over babywearing and organic baby food. It was nice.
Anyway, if you are interested in babywearing check out thebabywearer.com and try to find a local babywearing group. I plan on trying to find a group here in Houston so I can make sure I’m using my new Solarveil and Maya Wrap ring slings correctly. I’m looking forward to using the Solarveil in the pool. Maybe this weekend!
This morning Daphne & I headed over to Homewood for a Magic City Slingers meeting (our local babywearing group). The topic was DIY projects and it was very informative. I think I’m inspired to make my own ring sling, because I still just don’t think I’m getting a good fit with my two pouch slings. Daphne likes me to wear her in a hip carry in a sling around the house. If we are going somewhere I normally put her in the Ergo and do a back carry (that is if my husband is there as a spotter, I actually had a woman in the library stop me and ask how I put her on my back by myself… yeah, I had help. I’m sure I’ll get more comfortable with doing it by myself without a bed or another person as a spotter, but I’m not there yet).
After the meeting I headed to Whole Foods to pick up some baby food. Let me just say this, there is a reason why my husband drives 99.9999% of the time we go someplace together. Not only do I drive like a grandma, but I have no sense of direction. Really, I’m not sure I could even drive you to my mother-in-law’s house in Sand Springs, OK and she’s lived there now for several years. Anyway, I had the brilliant idea to see if Oxmoor Road went all the way to 280. After I had passed I-65 I called my husband and asked him. His suggestion was to turn around and go down Lakeshore. He also said that Oxmoor had too many twists and turns and I would get confused. Nah, I can figure it out. Um, yeah. We got lost, to the point that I was going West when I should have been going East. Then, by chance, I actually found Lakeshore only to not take the right road onto 280 and got stuck going through Vestavia & Hoover. Here’s a visual… I’m trying to get to point A from point B (sorry that’s backwards). The blue line is Google Maps suggested route, and, you guessed it, the pink route is me. I suck.
A saw a link to Baby Bisou baby carriers on Cool Mom Picks today and decided to check them out, especially since CMP was giving one away free. Check out their Almond Sparrows carrier:
Look familiar?? Here’s the fabric that I picked for my next mei tai. I’m just waiting on some fusible fleece to arrive for the straps before I start.
If you are interested in a Baby Bisou, check them out at thebabywearer.com. I’m not familiar with the brand. They do donate 10% of their profits to Half the Sky foundation, which supports orphaned children (mainly girls) living in Chinese institutions. Very cool. Speaking of China, did you see they have decided to keep their one child policy for at least the next 10 years? It will be interesting to see what happens with the gender imbalance over the next few decades. And how/if it effects their adoption policies.
Daphne & I decided to take advantage of the 75 degree weather and go for a walk today. I tried out my new Ergo and managed a back carry all by myself (well, with my bed as “spotter” in case she slid off my back). She really liked being outside. The only problem I had was trying to get her sun hat on her head while she was on my back. Should have put it on her before putting her in the Ergo. I tried putting it on after, and it was like a ring toss but behind your back. Um yeah, the hat wasn’t anywhere near her head. Oh well, next time I’ll know. I will say the Ergo was very easy to use, in fact I think even Chris could use it. Not that he couldn’t use my Babyhawk mei tai, but he doesn’t like to fool with the straps. The Ergo is all buckles. And with the added weight of Daphne I could tell I was getting a better walking workout. We will have to make this a habit.
It’s A Boy!
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Announcements · Baby · Babywearing · Crafts · Daphne
